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D.Ariz.: In forfeiture case, claimant must affirmatively show standing by more than an assertion

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

On summary judgment, the defendant’s Art. III standing was not shown, but he gets a break to try again because the Ninth Circuit’s law isn’t clear. United States v. $133,420.00 in United States Currency, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46863 (D. Ariz. April 9, 2010): Louis' responses to the interrogatories merely assert bald, unexplained ownership and possessory interests in the currency. There is no explanation of how or why he acquired the funds. While he is entitled to invoke Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, he does so at the peril of failing to produce sufficient evidence of standing to contest this civil proceeding. Louis has produced no evidence corroborating his claims other than the fact that the currency was in his possession at the time it was seized...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 14, 2010 (boomark / email).